Cheese enchiladas use corn tortillas Soften tortillas by heating them prior to using them. Tortillas can be warmed either in the microwave or singly in a hot skillet for a few seconds on each side, then covered with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and moist. A variety of cheeses can be used successfully for these tortillas. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

My family has made a recipe for many years consisting of a pretzel-shaped cookie that is deep fried and dipped in honey and sugar. The English translation of this Italian recipe is “Boiled Dough.” It tatses much better than it sounds!

Apple Pie, nothing better. When done the way my Grandmother made them, it would have a bit of tartness to it, piles of sliced apples (non of that canned stuff) and a crust I still can duplicate today. Put a bit of French Vanilla Ice Cream on it and I’m done for the day. I miss you, Grandma.

Oatmeal/Raises/Walnut Cookies…. Since retirement I’ve come to love baking cookies with my wife. My only real contribution to this (other than being the mixer) is whole wheat flour. It’s makes me feel much less guilty when I go crazy eating them.

Christmas Surprise Cookies: Basically a peanut butter cookie dough, chilled. Take a tablespoon of dough and press a miniature candy bar (snickers/milkyway, 1/2 works best) in center and form dough around it. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes. When cool, drizzle melted milk chocolate over each cookie.

My favorite holiday recipe is roast turkey, with homemade stuffing. Secret to a great roast turkey is to buy a fresh, quality bird (like from Diestel Farms in the SF Bay Area) and cook it in a Reynold’s roasting bag. The turkey comes out nice and moist. A winner every time.

I start with an old WWI receipt called Boiled Raisin Cake, this can be found on some raisin boxes [ I only use 1/2 the raisins ]. When I get to the “flour” stage I add nuts and candied fruit until I think it looks good, then bake. It makes the best “dark” fruit cake and our whole family can eat them as fast as I can bake them. They should age for a while but that just doesn’t happen around here.

I peel and core an apple, sit it in the center of a small triangle shaped piece of pie dough. I fill the core with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and butter. Then I take the corners of the dough and bring them up to form a Hershey Kiss like shape. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. Amazing!

Mom used to make a cake we always called holiday cake or Christmas cake and it was a loaf that would appear to be like pumpkin bread or something similar, but it wasn’t even close to those. She had to make the “soup” that was to be the cake and then after it was cooked on the stovetop, it had to sit until the next day to cool and settle, and it is the most delicious stuff that I have ever had, it has raisins in it, and sometimes walnuts, but it was a dark heavy cake that would just thrill me to have. I am not sure of all of the ingredients, and I suspect that she learned the process from her Mother, but I always loved that cake at this time of year, it was the only time that she made it and I always anticipated it with pleasure to know that it was this special cake at this time of year!!!